Boy or girl? Brosseau's bat reveals ... with a big coincidence

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau participated in an expectant couple’s gender reveal on Sunday. He hit a home run against the Royals on Monday. And, yes, he was already lobbying for naming rights.

“I’ll take a middle name,” Brosseau said. “That works for me.”

• First-rounder? First MLB spring game? How about a first homer?

That decision is up to Chelsey and Elliott Jensen, Brewers fans from Hudson, Wis., who, along with their 1-year-old son, Ezra, learned the gender of their soon-to-be second child during a visit to American Family Fields of Phoenix. Brosseau took a mighty cut at a pitch from Elliot, and blue smoke filled the sky. The couple is having a boy.

There’s a twist of fate you’ll think we made up.

“What’s crazy,” Chelsey said, “is that we already were doing Michael as the middle name.”

Said Elliott: “Michael is my middle name; it’s my dad’s name. But we’re not going to say it was that. It was definitely Mike [Brosseau]. We just saw he hit a homer and were like, ‘Oh man, this is going to turn into something.”

The story begins about a month ago, when the couple decided it would be fun to see if the Brewers would help them in this endeavor during a previously scheduled trip to Spring Training. They happened to mention the idea to manager Craig Counsell, who encouraged them to go for it. Brewers social media coordinator Sydney Gille assisted from there, ultimately enlisting the help of Brosseau.

“I think that’s the cool part of the game -- you get to touch people’s lives and affect them a little bit,” Brosseau said. “Obviously, they’re big Brewers fans, so that’s what they wanted to do. They have a little baby boy coming their way, and it was exciting for me at the same time to be part of that moment for them.

“That’s the part of the game that never gets old. That’s the part that carries from generation to generation. That’s what makes baseball a little bit special, to not only play a kid’s sport, but have that kid mentality. I was happy to do it.”

The baby is due Aug. 24, which would be quite convenient for dad’s Brewers obsession. The team is off that day before the start of a series against -- fittingly -- the Padres.

“Everybody’s just been so amazing during this whole thing,” Chelsey said. “It’s just so special and a really cool memory we won’t forget.”